"It's not important to me at all, I already know that the d-line we have here is going to go out and get the job done," Pierre-Paul said. "I'm very confident in Kiwi, Tuck, all of those guys getting the job done. That's all it takes. They don't really need me out there right now. I'm going to focus on my recovery. Everything will be alright."

Pierre-Paul said he's been doing some running lately and that he feels better. During the last time he checked in, he described himself as "75 percent."

When he speaks about the season-opener though, Pierre-Paul continued to emphasize the word if. If he is ready for Week 1. If he is healthy enough to play.

His most telling quote came when he was asked whether or not he'd need to practice before playing in a game.

"I'm going to have to get a couple of practices in before, IF I decide to come back before the first game or whatever," Pierre-Paul said. "I say this knowing I'm already going to be taking on two guys, a triple-team maybe, I'm not in a rush to hurry and come back to put myself in that position."

Pierre-Paul said there's no setbacks in his recovery, everything has been "perfectly fine." But he knows his body well enough to know that he simply cannot practice or be effective in a game-type situation right now.

"When I feel comfortable going out there and taking on blocks, and when I'm ready to run like the wind again, that's when I'll be out there," Pierre-Paul said. "Right now, I'm just taking it day by day."